26 results

  • Episode 01: Passive House

    The Facade Tectonics Institute is pleased to launch our long-awaited podcast, starting with Episode 01: Passive House, a moderated discussion between Lois Arena, Director of Passive House Services at Steven Winter Associates and Spencer Culhane, Senior Building Envelope Specialist at Schüco USA.

  • Skin Deep: Health, Wellness, and the Facade System

    Here we are, a full year after the initial COVID-19 surge rocked the United States. It’s hard to believe we’ve been living through the pandemic for a full year at this point; and yet it also feels like it’s been multiple years. We are beginning to see glimmers of hope on the horizon as more people..

  • Lightning Protection as Building Envelope

    A building’s envelope mitigates the effects of meteorological phenomena – including lightning – upon the structure and its occupants and contents. Th…

  • Subjective Perception and Objective Measurement

    Current glass industry standards provide clear tolerances for readily quantifiable physical properties to assist with the evaluation of visual qualit…

  • Laminated Security Glazing

    Glass is an essential component for any type of building. Its transparency enhances daylighting and provides occupants a view to the outside. Whether…

  • Rammed Earth & Wildfire

    California is set to be drier and more drought prone with climate change. Wildfire and the subsequent loss of life and housing is a huge challenge. C…

  • Glazing Design By ASTM E 1300 featured image

    Glazing Design By ASTM E 1300

    ASTM E 1300 “Standard Practice for Determining Load Resistance of Glass in Buildings” defines the load resistance of a glass construction as being th…

  • Heat-Treated Glass

    What was once an accepted reality in heat-treated exterior glass, optical disturbances in glass are under increasing scrutiny by developers, designer…

  • Specifying Commercial Aluminum Finishes featured image

    Specifying Commercial Aluminum Finishes

    Many factors will influence coating selection, but to achieve the desired performance level for a given situation, coatings must be specified based u…

  • Control Tower Glass Design featured image

    Control Tower Glass Design

    ASTM published the first version of ASTM E2461-05: Standard Practice for Determining the Thickness of Glass in Airport Traffic Control Tower Cabs in …

  • More Than a Facade

    In 2014, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) as an accredited ANSI Standards D…

  • The Seismic Capability of Curtainwalls

    The testing of aluminum/glass curtainwalls for seismic capability, mainly inter-story drift, has been carried out on many curtainwalls over the last …

  • The Evolution of AEC Professional Silos featured image

    The Evolution of AEC Professional Silos

    Healthcare projects in northern California require specialized knowledge to navigate regulation, technological advancements, and project execution du…

  • EUI of Building Clusters featured image

    EUI of Building Clusters

    Large master planned developments such as Battery Park City in Manhattan, Mission Bay in San Francisco, and Playa Vista in Los Angeles were built ove…

  • Fire Safety in High Rise Exterior Facades

    One of the most complex yet least understood areas where fire can spread is at the perimeter of a building. Fire can not only spread from floor-to-fl…

  • When Facades Kill

    The tragic fire of June 14, 2017 at the Grenfell Tower in London, England has brought to a very public global forum issues related to the impact of f…